U.S. patent number 4,317,655 [Application Number 06/094,739] was granted by the patent office on 1982-03-02 for marine drive gear housing.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Brunswick Corporation. Invention is credited to James M. Schiek.
United States Patent |
4,317,655 |
Schiek |
March 2, 1982 |
Marine drive gear housing
Abstract
A marine propulsion unit lower gear housing permits disassembly
by rearranging easily removable parts for engagement with
non-easily removable parts thereby permitting the use of standard
wrenches for disassembly and assembly.
Inventors: |
Schiek; James M. (Omro,
WI) |
Assignee: |
Brunswick Corporation (Skokie,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
22246879 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/094,739 |
Filed: |
November 15, 1979 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
440/78; 384/904;
416/134R; 416/93A; 440/49; 74/606R |
Current CPC
Class: |
B63H
23/34 (20130101); B63H 20/32 (20130101); Y10T
74/2186 (20150115); Y10S 384/904 (20130101); B63H
2020/323 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B63H
23/04 (20060101); B63H 23/00 (20060101); F02B
61/00 (20060101); F02B 61/04 (20060101); B63H
001/14 (); B63H 001/28 () |
Field of
Search: |
;115/49,900,75-78
;74/606 ;308/DIG.12 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Marmor; Charles A.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Andrus, Sceales, Starke &
Sawall
Claims
I claim:
1. A marine drive including
(A) a gear housing having a propeller shaft,
(B) gear means positioned on said shaft for rotation thereof,
(C) a closure member positioned on said shaft and threadably
engaged with said gear housing, and
(D) a propeller fixed on said propeller shaft for rotation
thereby,
wherein the improvement comprises:
an intermediate member positioned on said propeller shaft between
said propeller and said closure member, said intermediate member
and said closure member each having mating engagement means, said
intermediate member having a first position in which said mating
engagement means are spaced and do not engage and a second position
in which said mating engagement means are engaged so that rotation
of said intermediate member rotates said closure member for
removal.
2. The marine drive defined in claim 1 wherein said intermediate
member is axially movable between said first and second positions
so as to provide axial engagement and disengagement of said mating
engagement means.
3. The marine drive defined in claim 2 wherein said intermediate
member comprises a thrust carrying member positionable on said
propeller shaft for transmitting propeller thrust from said
propeller to said propeller shaft.
4. The marine drive defined in claim 2 wherein said axial movement
between said first and second positions is obtained by reversing
said intermediate member on said propeller shaft.
5. The marine drive defined in claim 4 wherein said intermediate
member includes surfaces for receiving a torque applying tool to
rotate said intermediate member when said mating engagement means
are engaged.
6. The marine drive as defined in claim 5 wherein said surface
include at least two parallel flat surfaces for receiving a
wrench.
7. The marine drive as defined in claim 5 wherein said surfaces
include a socket wrench engaging shape for receiving a socket
wrench.
8. The marine drive defined in claim 4 wherein said intermediate
member is fixed for rotation on said propeller shaft when said
engagement means are engaged whereby rotation of said propeller
shaft will rotate said intermediate member and remove said closure
member.
9. The marine drive defined in claim 8 wherein said propeller
includes surfaces for receiving a torque applying tool to rotate
said propeller.
10. The marine drive defined in claim 1 wherein said engagement
means comprise mating projections and depressions on said
intermediate member and said closure member.
Description
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
A marine propulsion unit such as an outboard engine or stern drive
includes a lower gear housing having a propeller shaft and foward
and reverse gears. The gears are retained in position by a closure
member which is threaded into the gear housing. This closure member
must be removed for inspection and replacement of the gears and
other associated internal parts. Previously the closure member was
removed with a wrench which engages the closure member. This wrench
is a special tool which is generally only available at certain
repair facilities. Therefore without the special wrench, removal of
the closure member by the operator and removal at remote locations
is generally not possible or very difficult.
2. Disclosure of Invention
The novel marine drive includes a gear housing having a propeller
shaft and gear means positioned on the propeller shaft to rotate
the shaft. A closure member is positioned on the propeller shaft
and threadably engaged with the gear housing, a propeller is fixed
on the propeller shaft for rotation thereby, and a thrust carrying
member is positioned between the propeller and the propeller shaft
for transmitting the propeller thrust to the propeller shaft. The
thrust carrying member and the closure member each have spaced
mating engagement means and upon axial engaging movement of the
mating engagement means the thrust carrying member will rotate to
remove the closure member. This permits easy removal of the gearing
in the lower drive unit at repair shops and at remote locations
with the use of standard wrenches such as the well-known crescent
wrench.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a lower gear housing of a
marine drive illustrating the invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the gear housing shown
in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is the same as FIG. 2 illustrating the use of the thrust
carrying member and propeller for removal of the closure
member.
FIG. 4 is an alternative embodiment similar to FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a marine propulsion unit 10 having a lower gear
housing 11. The gear housing 11 includes a drive shaft 12 having a
pinion gear 13 and a propeller shaft 14. The propeller shaft 14
includes forward and reverse bevel gears 15 and 16 respectively
which continuously engage the pinoin gear 13 and a sliding clutch
17 which engages between clutch faces on each of the bevel gears 15
and 16 by sliding on a spline on the propeller shaft 14 thereby
providing forward and reverse rotation of the propeller shaft
14.
A retaining member or closure member 18 is positioned over the
propeller shaft 14. The closure member 18 supports the propeller
shaft 14 and positions the reverse bevel gear 16. Retaining washer
19 retains O-ring 20 between closure member 18 and gear housing 11
to seal the gear housing 11 against entry of water and to retain
lubricant. A separate seal 21 between the propeller shaft 14 and
the closure member 18 also prevents water entry and retains
lubricant.
The propeller shaft 14 includes a splined portion 22 and a threaded
end portion 23. An intermediate member or thrust carrying member
24, a cup washer 25, and a propeller 26 are positioned on the
splined portion 22 of the propeller shaft 14 and held thereon by a
propeller nut 27 engaging the threaded end portion 23. The
propeller 26 includes a rubber shock hub 28.
The thrust carrying member 24 includes a first portion 29 which has
a flat radial surface 30 and a second portion 31 which has a thrust
transferring end surface 32. The first portion 29 includes
engagement means 33a which engage with mating engagement means 33b
on the closure member 18. In the preferred embodiment the
engagement means 33a are indentations 34 formed in the first
portion 29 of the thrust carrying member 24 and the mating
engagement means 33b are projections 35 formed in the closure
member 18. The projections 35 may be on either the thrust carrying
member 24 or the closure member 18 with the indentations 34 on the
other member. Other keying means may also be used to provide the
mating engagement means.
In the preferred embodiment the cup washer 25 fits over the first
portion 29 of the thrust carrying member 24 to cover the
indentations 34 during normal operation. The cup washer 25 provides
a wear surface 37 between the thrust carrying member 24 and the
propeller 26. The wear surface 37 permits relative motion of the
propeller 26 on the rubber shock hub 28. The cup washer 25 need not
be used since the thrust carrying member 24 can also provide the
wear surface 37 but is generally used to permit replacement of a
low cost washer 25 rather than a higher cost thrust carrying member
24.
In the preferred embodiment the inner diameter of the thrust
carrying member 24 includes a spline 38 which mates with the
splined portion 22 of the propeller shaft 14. The spline 38
includes a formed surface 39 at the thrust transferring end which
mates with an end formed surface 40 on the splined portion 22 of
the propeller shaft 14 to transfer the thrust load from the
propeller 26 into the propeller shaft 14. The propeller 26 includes
wrench engaging surfaces 41 for receiving a torque applying
tool.
FIG. 1 and 2 illustrate the thrust carrying member 24 in the normal
operating position of the marine propulsion unit 10. In the normal
operating position the engagement means 33a and the mating
engagement means 33b are not engaged. In this position the thrust
from the propeller 26 is first carried to the cup washer 25, then,
to the thrust carrying member 24 and then from the thrust carrying
member 24 to the propeller shaft 14. The axial position of the
thrust carrying member 24 on the propeller shaft 14 prevents
engagement of the engagement means 33a and mating engagement means
33b.
FIG. 4 illustrates an alternative marine propulsion unit 10'. In
this embodiment the propeller shaft 14' includes a threaded end
portion 42 and a necked-down portion 43 ending in a fillet or
shoulder 44. The thrust carrying member 24' similarly includes a
first portion 29' which has a flat radial surface 30' and a second
portion 31' which has a thrust transferring end surface 32'. The
inside diameter of the thrust carrying member 24' at the end
surface 32' has an edge radius 46 which contacts against the fillet
or shoulder 44 to carry the thrust load from the propeller 26'. The
first portion 29' includes engagement means 33a' which engage with
mating engagement means 33b' on the closure member 18'. The second
portion 31' also includes wrench engaging surfaces 47. The wrench
engaging surfaces 47 are at least two parallel flat surfaces 48a
and 48b. Multiple flat surfaces 48a and 48b also generate a
hexagonal or other multiple-sided geometric shape suitable for
engagement by a socket or box end wrench.
Removal of Closure Member
In the preferred embodiment the propeller 26 is used to remove the
closure member 18. First, the propeller nut 27, propeller 26, cup
washer 25, and thrust carrying member 24 are removed. Then, the
thrust carrying member 24 without the cup washer 25 is reversed and
repositioned over the propeller shaft 14 such that the engagement
means 33a and mating engagement means 33b are engaged and the
spline 38 mates with the splined portion 22 of the propeller shaft
14. The propeller 26 is then repositioned over the splined portion
22 to engage the splined portion 22. The propeller 26 is then
either manually rotated or rotated with a wrench on its wrench
engaging surfaces 41 to remove the closure member 18.
In the alternative embodiment the thrust carrying member 24' is
used to remove the closure member 18'. The propeller nut 27',
propeller 26', cup washer 25' and thrust carrying member 24' are
removed as in the preferred embodiment. The thrust carrying member
24' without the cup washer 25' is reversed and repositioned over
the propeller shaft 14' such that the engagement means 33a' and
mating engagement means 33b' are engaged. A wrench is then applied
to the wrench engaging surfaces 47 of the thrust carrying member
24' to rotate the thrust carrying member 24' to remove the closure
member 18'. In the alternative embodiment it is not necessary that
the closure member removal force be carried from the spline on the
propeller shaft since the thrust carrying member 24' is used to
directly remove the closure member 18'.
Although reversal of the thrust carrying member to obtain removal
engagement with the closure member has been described a spacer may
also be positioned between the closure member and the thrust
carrying member to provide non-engagement of the engagement means
on the closure member and mating engagement means on the thrust
carrying member. The removal of the spacer will permit engagement.
Under this alternative the wrench engaging surfaces on the thrust
carrying member are positioned towards the propeller. To remove the
closure member the spacer is removed, the engagement means and
mating engagement means are engaged and the closure member is
removed as described in the preferred or alternative
embodiment.
* * * * *